Experts in climate change will find out if they have actually contributed to global warming by attending the UK’s biggest public health conference in April when organisers assess the event’s environmental footprint.

The organisers, the UK Public Health Association (UKPHA), are taking this unusual step to alert policy makers to the less publicised but equally damaging effects of climate change and pollution on health, as well as to the environment.  The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, for example, has reported that air pollution is responsible for 24,000 pre­mature deaths in Britain every year.

Over 1,000 delegates from across the UK, the Republic of Ireland and overseas will hear from experts in climate change and air pollution, patient safety, obesity, drugs, sexual health, and alcohol abuse at the 16th UKPHA’s Annual Public Health Forum in Liverpool on 1^st & 2^nd April. 

UKPHA says that in line with its commitment to health and sustainable development it should have the Forum ecologically foot printed – one of the first in the UK to do so.  The organisation has enlisted Best Foot Forward, experts in sustainability, to calculate the impact and environmental cost of the conference by studying delegates’ method of travel to and from the waterfront venue, food preparation during the two-day conference and the efficiency of the venue itself.  The information will provide a baseline for future events.

Best Foot Forward were authors of the groundbreaking research report Material Health – an ecological footprint of the NHS. The then Chief Executive of the NHS Nigel Crisp said of the research ‘ In this study we have for the first time an overall picture of the resources consumed in the deliver of healthcare in England and Wales.  Quantifying the ecological footprint of the NHS allow us to see where improvements could be made in terms of promoting more sustainable patterns of consumption and reducing the quantity of waste that is generated, whilst still improving the social and economic circumstances of the country’s population.’

Said conference organiser Angela Mawle: “The UKPHA is blazing the trail for sustainable conferencing, working with the venues and our delegates to ensure that the ecological footprint of the Forums is reduced to the minimum possible.

“The newly built BT Convention Centre where the conference is taking place this year has been designed to very high standards of energy efficiency, has rainwater recycling systems and a comprehensive waste reduction policy. Food will be locally sourced and as ever tap water will replace the unsustainable and energy inefficient bottled option.”

Delegates will be encouraged to reduce their own contribution to the footprint by walking and cycling locally and by using public transport where possible.  To support this, off site visits have been restricted to local initiatives, including one to a drop-in centre for asylum seekers and refugees. 

Also on the agenda will be visits to:

• A ‘Chill Out’ log cabin used by Liverpool Primary Care Trust to encourage the 50,000 students living in Liverpool to reduce their alcohol intake.  The mobile cabin provided students with a place to relax away from alcohol - giving them a real alternative to the pub and time to think about their drinking habits. They could listen to music, play games and enjoy massages and beauty treatments.
• A mobile service taking fresh fruit and vegetables to areas with few or no shops. The initiative uses a combination of street trading, home deliveries and group schemes.   75% of customers surveyed said being able to buy fresh fruit and vegetables locally encouraged them to eat more of them.

During the conference, pro­fessionals working in the social, economic, health, and environmental sectors will be urged to challenge current orthodoxies and to take a lead in developing and implementing polices and strategies to tackle the threat to health posed by climate change and unsustainable development.

Added Angela Mawle: “Profession­als from across all sectors need to recognise the role that they and their organisations have to play in bringing about the joined up working essential to tackling climate change and pursuing sustainable development. In recognising this role it is then implicit that action must follow to bring about the change that is urgently needed.

 “The 16th Annual Public Health Forum will build on existing efforts, particularly in respect of making the links between grassroots activity and local and national decision making around these critical issues of our time. Clearly climate change and sustainable development are areas where informed individual choice and societal and political action are vital to ensuring a healthy and sustainable future.”

  The conference offers delegates an extensive programme including:

• Sessions on global issues relevant to the UK and Ireland
• Leading edge developments from all parts of the UK and Ireland
• Projects from the North West of England

Among the delegates will be key decision makers in the NHS and Local Government, including directors of public health and directors of environmental services as well as health improvement officers, health visitors, teachers, public health and community nurses, social workers, housing and emergency planning officers and academics. The voluntary and community sector will also be represented.